by PandaEskimo
The first point is rather interesting. The inside / outside rule is a Europe / US difference. See here, http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/quotation_(speech)_ma.... The European method seems to make much more sense since it follows how you are logically structuring the sentence.For example,
The post said, "gotta".
The period is not part of the quoted word / phrase, it's part of the sentence. The reason for having the period before the quotation marks was a result of typewriter limitations. Punctuation guidelines change with technology.
Quotation marks, dashes, and spaces after sentences are other punctuation changes that occurred with typewriters and computers.